


Superheroes

by Jelly_Bean_Jones



Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017), Riverdale (TV 2017) RPF
Genre: F/F, F/M, Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 17:46:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14407257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jelly_Bean_Jones/pseuds/Jelly_Bean_Jones
Summary: After Fred's attack, Veronica tries to comfort Archie in the hospital. Unfortunately, the person he needs comfort from, turns out to be someone else completely.





	Superheroes

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: Jelly-Bean-Jones  
> Twitter: @Jelly-Bean-Jones

INT: DIMLIT HOSPITAL HALLWAY – NIGHT  
VERONICA LODGE nervously paces, cellphone up to her ear. Perfect powerhouse Veronica is out of sorts, forgetting to breathe as she speaks.  
VERONICA:  
Betty I seriously don’t know what to do here. I’m with Archie, we’re at the hospital, Fred still hasn’t woken up, Archie’s a complete mess and I –  
INT: BETTY COOPER’S BEDROOM- SAME TIME  
BETTY COOPER sits at her desk  
BETTY:  
OK slow down. Breathe. What do you need me to do?  
INTERCUT- PHONE CONVERSATION  
VERONICA:  
I need you to be Betty Cooper, long time best friend to Archie Andrews and tell me exactly how to fix this!  
BETTY:  
You can’t fix it, V. You just have to be there for him.  
VERONICA (gathering herself):  
Okay. Okay!  
: Beat:  
How exactly do I do that?  
BETTY:  
Veronica-  
VERONICA:  
I’m serious Betty, there are not very many things Veronica Lodge is bad at but grief and comforting boyfriends happen to be two of them  
BETTY:  
That’s old Veronica talking.  
VERONICA:  
No, old Veronica would have bolted by now. New Veronica doesn’t want to let Archie down but…she’s failing miserably.  
BETTY:  
You won’t let him down. Like I said, all you have to do is be there. The most important thing right now is that Archie knows he’s not alone. So put on your big girl Jimmy Choos, march back into that room, and be there for your man.  
VERONICA:  
Their vintage Manolos, but I appreciate the reference. Talk later. Wish me luck, B.  
BETTY:  
(uneasy)  
Good luck…  
VERONICA clicks off her phone, fixes her clothes, takes a deep breath, and walks towards hospital room  
Intercut to BETTY, with a concerned look on her face, hangs up and gently places her phone on the table next to her keys. BETTY stares at keys for a long beat, glances at the door, one more beat passes, then she grabs the keys and jolts up, exiting her room  
INT: HOSPITAL ROOM- NIGHT  
ARCHIE ANDREWS stands beside a coma struck FRED ANDREWS, staring off into space, he is completely stoic. VERONICA LODGE sits close by in one of the seats by the large wall sized windows, tapping her shoes gently, awkwardly preparing to break the silence.  
VERONICA:  
So I sent Smithers to grab Fred a new wallet…it’s from Barneys.  
ARCHIE:  
(not even looking at her)  
Thanks Ronnie. But it’s not really the wallet I’m worried about. It’s all that information about my dad that was inside of it.  
VERONICA:  
(hurt)  
Oh. Right.  
(beat, then trying again)  
Are you hungry? I could go get us something from the vending machine? When I’m stressed out there’s nothing better than diving into a serious sugar coma-  
ARCHIE:  
(snapping his head to look at her for the first time)  
Really Ronnie?  
VERONICA:  
(realizing she’s been insensitive)  
Oh my god, Archie I’m so sorry I didn’t mean-  
ARCHIE:  
(rubbing his eyse, composing himself, he knows she’s trying her best here)  
-Yea, I know you didn’t. It’s fine. But I’m not hungry right now and I really think I just need to be here for my dad.  
VERONICA:  
(eager to please him, hands up)  
Okay, yes, of course. I can just sit here and be quiet.  
ARCHIE:  
No, Ronnie, what I mean is I think maybe you should just go.  
VERONICA:  
Ar-are you sure? Because I don’t mind-  
ARCHIE(gently):  
-I’m sure. Go home, OK? Get some rest.  
VERONICA:  
OK…you’ll call me later?  
ARCHIE:  
(beat, without even looking in her direction)  
Yeah, I’ll call you later.  
VERONICA nods somberly, grabs her purse and slowly exits. ARCHIE doesn’t even notice her leave. As she rounds the corner to the hallway, she stops in her tracks, staring straight ahead. All the emotion hits her, camera zooming into frame her face as she starts to well up with tears. Feeling like she’s losing ARCHIE, she clasps her hand over her mouth to keep from crying, breaks into sprint through the hallway into the main lobby.  
INT- MAIN LOBBY OF ICU HOSPITAL UNIT- NIGHT  
Elevator door opens, revealing BETTY standing in it. VERONICA runs through lobby, BETTY almost crashing into her, but VERONICA doesn’t notice. BETTY looks back at where VERONICA has just run, then looks forward down the hallway where ARCHIE and FRED are. Glances back and forth one last time, before deciding to head to ARCHIES room. After a few steps, BETTY also begins to run.  
INT: FRED’S HOSPITAL ROOM- NIGHT  
BETTY slowly opens the hospital door, making it squeak. ARCHIE half-hazardely looks up, and when laying eyes on BETTY, they stand there staring at one another for a beat, before emotion overcomes ARCHIE, and he rushes over to her, collapses in her arms, sobbing as she holds him. She consoles him, stroking his hair, as he buries himself in her shoulder, soaking her sweater.  
After a few beats, Betty slowly guides them both over to the chairs that sit against the large windowed walls, ARCHIE’S face still buried in side.  
BETTY:  
Shh. It’s OK, Arch. Everything’s OK.  
ARCHIE:  
(Between sobs)  
It was so awful, Betty.  
BETTY:  
I know.  
ARCHIE:  
I can’t lose him. I can’t lose my Dad.  
BETTY:  
You won’t. You won’t lose him.  
ARCHIE:  
I should have done more to help him. I should have protected him somehow.  
(pulling his head up to look at her, ashamed, scared)  
It was my fault.  
BETTY:  
(grabbing on to his arms, slightly shaking him)  
Listen to me. There is NOTHING more you could have done.  
ARCHIE:  
(Shaking his head, still crying)  
No, no you’re wrong. I could have saved him. I could have attacked the robber, or grabbed the gun, I could have called the police right away. But I didn’t. I just stood there, like I was paralyzed. I didn’t even move a muscle until I was sure the guy was gone...I was useless.  
BETTY:  
Archie he had a gun to your HEAD. If you had tried anything, you BOTH would have gotten shot. Or worse? You could be DEAD right now. You saved your fathers life. You’re a hero, OK? And I know your dad would agree with me.  
ARCHIE:  
(beat)  
I just...can't believe this is happening. I feel like I’m inside of a nightmare.  
(very serious, he leans in, like he's whispering an ominous secret)  
I’m terrified, Betty.  
BETTY:  
(Looks thoughtfully at Archie, who has put his head in his hands and elbows on his knees, staring at the ground, lets a beat pass before speaking again)  
Hey…Do you remember that summer a bolt of lightening hit a tree in my backyard, taking out my whole porch and almost killing Polly?  
ARCHIE:  
(shrugging)  
Yea?  
BETTY:  
(smiling to herself, staring ahead)  
We couldn’t have been more than 8, or 9. And after that happened I became like, deathly afraid of rain.  
ARCHIE:  
(nodding)  
One drop from the sky and you’d bolt inside, lock yourself in your closet and refuse to come out unless someone could prove to you it was sunny again.  
BETTY:  
(gently laughing)  
Yeah, like I said, I was deathly afraid of the rain. And when that happened to me, do you remember what you did?  
(ARCHIE shakes his head slightly,  
not sure what she’s talking about)  
BETTY:  
One night, I was hiding from a particularly scary storm, and you BURST into the closet, demanding that I let you show me something. Then with that cheesy, classic Archie Andrews grin, you whipped out two capes you had made for us and declared that we were now Superheroes with alter egos.  
ARCHIE:  
Archboy and Superbetty-  
BETTY:  
(Nodding)  
-Archboy and Superbetty. You grabbed my hand, and told me that whenever the rain would strike, we would magically morph into our new super hero selves, who together had the ultimate super power of “bravery against all odds”.  
ARCHIE:  
It didn’t really work.  
BETTY:  
Sure it did! After that day, every time it rained, you’d come over and sit there with me, both of us in our capes, holding hands, reading Swiss Family Robinson until the storm passed. And even if it didn’t get me out of the closet, it definitely stopped me from being scared.  
ARCHIE:  
(remembering now)  
That was the same year my mom and dad were fighting really bad. Whenever they’d start yelling I’d signal you with a flashlight to come over and you’d show up with your cape.  
BETTY:  
And we’d sit in YOUR closet. You remember!  
ARCHIE:  
I remember.  
(beat)  
You always showed up.  
BETTY:  
So did you.  
(Beat, the two looking at each other, Archie looks down at the floor again)  
ARCHIE:  
I wonder why we stopped doing that.  
BETTY:  
(lightheartedly)  
I think we eventually grew out of those capes.  
ARCHIE:  
(a bit defeated)  
Yea. Right.  
BETTY:  
(turning serious, bending closer to his face)  
But the thing is Arch, those capes weren’t what made us brave.  
(Betty reaches over, grabs Archie’s hand and weaves her fingers into his)  
This did. This is our superpower.  
(Archie looks up, slightly taken aback, glances at their hands interwoven, then up Betty, slightly unsure)  
BETTY (cont’d):  
And this? This has no expiration date. We don't grow out of this. You have it forever. OK?  
(Archie nods, mouths yea, still taken back, no sound can really come out)  
OK.  
ARCHIE sighs, sits back in his chair. BETTY puts her head on his shoulder, their hands are still interwoven. Camera pans out on them sitting there in silence, ARCHIE looking at FRED, BETTY with her eyes closed on his shoulder.  
END SCENE.  
EXT/INT: ANDREW’S HOUSE-DAY  
ARCHIE walks onto his front lawn and up his porch steps, clothes still torn up, looking exhausted, obviously this is the first time he’s been home since FRED was shot. Pulls out his keys, opens the door, jogs up the stairs, enters his room, takes of his coat. Walking towards his closet, he sees something sitting on the bed. He walks over to it. It’s a bright red cape with “ARCH BOY” written on the back, so neat and precise and so…BETTY. This is a new version, one that could probably fit him now. He holds it in his hands and smirks, then notices laying there, on the bed, also is the copy of Swiss Family Robinson he had given BETTY for Secret Santa, plus a flashlight with a note stuck to it that says: “In Case We Need To Use These. Alter Egos: New Edition”. Archie drops the note, grabs the flashlight and walks over to the window, proceeds to signal her by flashing light into Betty’s room three times.  
After a few beats, BETTY’S head pops out curiously from the left side. She sees ARCHIE, waves, then puts her finger up as to say “Hold on one second”. She disappears from the window again. ARCHIE looks confused, but she soon reappears, wearing a gold cape and mask of her own. BETTY turns around so ARCHIE can see that SUPERBETTY is written on the back. She stands there pretending to fly like Superman, then lifts her muscles like she’s flexing for him. Suddenly, Archie breaks into a fit of laughter, shaking his head at her. He then becomes taken aback/overwhelmed, realizing that he hasn’t truly laughed since his dad was shot. This was her plan all along. He looks over at BETTY and mouths “Thank You”, and she responds with a sheepish smile and a shrug, a tilt to the head and a mouthing of “Always”.  
ARCHIE walks away from the window, still smiling. He gets into his boxers, and moves Betty’s gifts to his side table. His phone lights up on his bed, as he reaches for it, he sees “RONNIE” on the screen. He hesitates, glances over at BETTY’S gifts on the table, then slowly places his phone face down next to them. ARCHIE turns the light off, flips over on his pillow, and closes his eyes. For the first time in days, he’s able to get some sleep.


End file.
